Movie Type: Psychological Sci-Fi, Political Satire
Themes: Totalitarian States, Future Dystopias, Mind Games
Main Cast: John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, Cyril Cusack, Gregor Fisher
Release Year: 1984
Country: UK
Run Time: 120 minutes
Plot
Directed by British filmmaker Michael Radford, Nineteen Eighty-Four is the second film adaptation of the George Orwell novel. The film is set during April of 1984 in post-atomic war London, the capital city of the repressive totalitarian state of Oceania. Winston Smith (John Hurt) is a government bureaucrat whose job is rewriting history and erasing people from existence. While his co-worker Parsons (Gregor Fisher) seems content to follow the state's laws, Winston starts to write in a secret diary despite the fact the "Big Brother" is watching everyone at all times by way of monitors. He silently suffers and tries to comprehend his oppression, which forbids individual human behaviors such as free thinking and sex. He meets Julia (Suzanna Hamilton), who works for the Ministry of Truth, and they engage in a stoic love affair. They are soon found out, and Winston is interrogated and tortured by his former friend O'Brien (Richard Burton in his final film appearance). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Review
Filmed during the actual dates in 1984 as described in the book, Michael Radford's adaptation is the preeminent film version of George Orwell's infamous novel. The stark gray settings effectively set the mood of a totalitarian state. John Hurt is a beaten-down Winston, whose weathered face shows every result of his tortured existence, especially during the final devastating scenes with the Thought Police. Suzanna Hamilton does what she can as Julia, bringing some human warmth to the otherwise grim and desolate surroundings. In the last performance before his death, Richard Burton conveys Inner Party member O'Brien with a strange fatherly compassion that makes his sadistic role all the more disturbing. In contrast to some other flashy and visually inventive future dystopia movies, 1984 focuses on the plight of humans with an austere landscape, washed-out colors, and severe close-ups signifying the omnipresence of Big Brother. In general, 1984 faithfully follows the book in story, character, and tone, which makes for an authentic if thoroughly depressing and slow-paced movie. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
James Walker - Syme; Andrew Wilde - Tillotson; Rupert Baderman - Winston as a Boy; Anthony Benson - Jones; David Cann - Martin; Peter Frye - Rutherford; John Golightly - Patrolman; Christine Hargreaves - Soup Lady; Merelina Kendall - Mrs. Parsons; Janet Key - Instructress; Phyllis Logan - Telescreen Announcer; Roger Lloyd Pack - Waiter; Matthew Scurfield - Guard; Shirley Stelfox - Whore; David Trevena - Tillotson's Friend; Hugh Walters - Artsem Lecturer; Eddie Stacey - Executioner; Bob Flag - Big Brother; Robert Putt - Shouting Prole; Rolf Saxon - Patrolman; Garry Cooper - Guard; Norman Bacon - Man on Station; John Boswall - Goldstein; Martha Parsey - Winston's Sister; John Hughes - Man in White Coat; Carey Wilson - Party Member
Credit
Grant Hicks - Art Director, Martin Herbert - Art Director, John Davis - Associate Producer, Rebecca Howard - Casting, Al Clark - Co-producer, Emma Porteous - Costume Designer, Chris Rose - First Assistant Director, Michael Radford - Director, Tom Priestley - Editor, Eurythmics - Composer (Music Score), Annie Lennox - Composer (Music Score), Dominic Muldowney - Composer (Music Score), Dave Stewart - Composer (Music Score), Bruce White - Musical Direction/Supervision, Dominic Muldowney - Songwriter, Anna Dryhurst - Makeup, Mary Hillman - Makeup, Allan Cameron - Production Designer, Roger Deakins - Cinematographer, Simon Perry - Producer, Mark Raggett - Set Designer, Bruce White - Sound/Sound Designer, Jonathan Gems - Screenwriter, Michael Radford - Screenwriter, George Orwell - Book Author
